The Modern Crimean Tatar LiteratureA
Source of Information on Historic Events of Crimean Tatar
People

The history of every
people, including Crimean Tatars, as well as any historic event, is
studied by the historians from the documents. Usually, they are various
printed and handwritten evidences of the past events (the Governmental
decrees, decisions and other official sources, as well as leaflets,
proclamations, letters, minutes, and other documents including the
pictures). However, very few people study these documents only because of
their professional interest. For the majority of people they are of little
interest mainly because of their unattractiveness. That is why many
historic events are doomed to oblivion for the majority of population. For
the waist majority of people the main information about the history of a
country and its people remains to be the literary works of historic kind,
which could be easily read especially if the writer can captivate the
reader. The completeness and honesty of people’s memory depends on how
minutely and clever the writer depicted the passed events. Moreover, there
were occasions in the history when the only evidence of a great event was
a work of art, passed, at times, by word of mouth for centuries across the
generations. For example one could mention Homer’s “Odyssey”, which helped
Mr. Shliman to discover and excavate the town of Troy, which for a long
time was considered to be a mythic town, the product of imagination of the
legendary narrator. Turning to the
national history, one could recall “The Song of Igor’s Campaign” that was
a purely literary work, that later helped the historians not only find out
about the ordinary event – the usual intestine strife, but what is more
important, showed the full picture of the medieval way of life of the
Russian-Polovets nobility, linked tightly and inseparably with each other.
The value of the given work is that it went beyond the bare statement of
fact, but depicted the historic event in its full emotional and spiritual
variety, that usual chronicle, the main source of historic information,
could never do.

This year on May 18 our people commemorated the tragic date – the 62nd anniversary of the repressive deportation. 110 thousand of 240 deportees died in the first months of exile. 70 per cent of them were children. Those who survived had their lives deformed and destroyed. How many talents were destroyed! This assay tells the story of one of such lives.

This interview I gave two years ago sharp, when I didn’t have yet my own site. It was published in the 3rd edition of the newspaper “Golos Kryma” on January 14, 2005. In spite of dating this material to my 70th jubilee I recreate it now, because the information contained there, first - is still acute, second – the reported, who edited some of my thoughts in his own way, didn’t published a lot of what I said. I bridged these gaps in the present version. So, the present version is not quite what was published in the newspaper and on the site www.kirimtatar.com . So, here it is.

The lecture with this title was organized and held on March 5, 2007 in Jewish Center located in Marjina Roscha in Moscow. The announcement itself stated:
Moscow Jew Community Center
invites all concerned to
The Club of Lovers of Jew's History
to listen to the lecture …
… there was an explanation below that doctor Alexander Lokshin is going to tell about one of the most mysterious Jew community in the world (my italics).

The ghost of revolution is already roaming about Russia. It could be seen already with the naked eye. The so called "marches of discordants" held at the beginning of 2007 were just the visible part of an iceberg that showed the hidden discontent of people deceived by the present authorities. What do not like people participating in protests and demonstrations? Who are they and how numerous they are? Any outside observer involuntarily has such questions.
Though, I must mention from the very beginning: mass protests take place exclusively in the capitals. The province still preserves silence sleeping. Though, it always was like this. It was one hundred and ninety years ago and even most recently. The second question is how serious this all. Could the discontent of a certain part of population living in both capitals become the general phenomenon? In order to understand this let's try to analyze the moving motives of "discordants" with the existing regime.

Speech on the occasion of presentation of the book by Gulnara Abdulaeva

Dear compatriots and friends! Today I have the opportunity to tell you about the events the meaning of which you couldn't evaluate at once, but after the lapse of not one but many years. I’m telling about the birth of a writer. It comes about not just a common writer, you see we have lot's of writers. I’m telling about the special generation of writers, about the writers of historical novel. There are many writers in the world, there are even too many of them. Their amount reaches tens of thousands. However, the authors of historical novel we know by a name. Why? You see, there are few of them. There are not many of them because in order to become a historical writer one has to have in addition the outstanding imagination that is not naturally given to every person. The great Einstein noted that the good scientist has to have an outstanding imagination. Without it he just becomes a mere accumulator of knowledge, but he will not be able to generate new knowledge and discoveries. Well, for the historical writer who not just copying life from the reality presenting it to us as an epistolary work, and invent what is not exist already long ago, having good imagination is just necessary. Otherwise the description will be primitive and unreal, in which we – the readers will not believe.

The legal reference instead of a preface:“In international practice genocide is defined as any actions committed by someone with intent to destroy national, ethnic, race or religious group or create unbearable conditions of life for the whole group or its part”.
Historic roots of genocide, in other words, Russian state’s aversion of independent Crimea goes back to the times of the collapse of the former mighty Golden Horde that included both Crimea and Russian principalities with Moscow Principality at the head that by the beginning of the 16th century became so mighty and independent that in their might could compete with parent state - Saray.

An outstanding event took place in Crimea in May 2009 – the first Crimean Tatar World Congress. A stranger, non-Crimean Tatar would be involuntary puzzled with such event: why world congress, do Crimean Tatars live all over the world, why not only in Crimea? What made them leaving their native land and what prevents them prom getting back to Crimea?.

Early October this year the planned meeting of the Congress of Federal Union of European Nationalities (FUEN) was held. It seems like this is an ordinary event. You know, FUEN’s Congresses have been held annually for already 60 years. As a rule, they are held in those regions of European states where we could see the density of the national minorities of a particular national state. For example in 2006 the Congress was held in Bautzen near Dresden where Sobres – German Slavs live from all eternity.

Erik Kudusov’s answers to the questions of the editor of the newspaper “Golos Kryma”

It’s hard to believe, but Erik Kudusov is celebrating his 75th anniversary. On such jubilee day a person can be deeply touched and recall the past. Zealot, what are you thinking about?
Dear Eldar! I’m afraid that my answer to your first question – what I’m thinking about in my 75th anniversary - will be quite embarrassing for you. You know, you used to talk to me like to a cheerful and optimistic person who couldn’t be called an old man despite his 75th anniversary, because he is always full of energy and always looks to the future, as if he is going to live for an eternity. Alas! I am also a philosopher who has a sober view on life. That is why I’ll give the following answer to your question: “It’s a pity that I wasn’t born in due place and at due time”.

Mr. President of Russian Federation, Dmitry Anatolyevich! Let me address to you not as a private person, but as the head of the regional public organization of the Russian Federation “Association of Crimean Tatars”, registered by the order # 8790 of the Ministry of Justice of Russian Federation on February 11, 1998.

Saying about the historical significance of the reform of 1861, carried out by Russian Emperor Alexander the Second, we have to note that unfortunately, given its apparent and evident progressiveness this reform was performed too late. Why? Because the age of slavery that was established in Russian space after coming of Norwegian tribe of Russes headed by Rurik in 862 protracted for thousand years. This term turned out to be fatal for the subject Slavic tribes during the formation of their mentality. They submitted to this slave position to such extent that now it is impossible to squeeze even drop by drop a slave from the descendants of Slavs, subjected by Russes. The consequence of this historical casus was long-lasting existence of two absolutely different ethnic formations on one territory: ethnic group of slaves and ethnic group of lords (according to Lermontov “The country of slaves, the country of gentlemen”). At this, both ethnic groups were referred to as Russians, though, initially only subjected Slavs were called Russians. But, later on this ethnic name stuck to slaveholders as well (usually, the name of an ethnic group is given by their neighbors, the original name do not remain in the memory of neighbor peoples).

Recollections of How They Tried to Crack Me Up in Soviet Camps and What Could They Do

From a series: THE DISSIDENT’S MEMOIRS

Preface

I was suggested to write this kind of memoirs back in the ‘90s as soon as I was released. However, I was unable to do it, because I was racked by the emotions that hampered me from organizing my thoughts in order to describe all twists and turns of my life consistently. Now, almost 30 years passed since these events and I finally let myself indulging in the past. I don’t know what it would be like. I can’t put it off anymore: I won’t die at ease without knocking this odious regime that spoiled not only my life, but the lives of many millions of the best representatives of mankind. If earlier the emotions prevented me from concentrating, now when I gained the mature staidness, I hope these emotional recollections will only arose the feeling of the noble requital. Evil must not remain unpunished. The Soviet communist regime is an evil that didn’t die yet. Meanwhile, I would like to worn that this work is not a kind of a literary read, but rather the documentary description of the unique events of my life.

Since the pre-ancient time the Crimean peninsular was one of the most favorable places for the developing mankind. The more the population of the planet increased, the more severe the fighting for this plot of land became. The first inhabitants of Crimea who left their offspring here were the Celts also referred to by the first Hellenic sailors and colonizers as the Taurs. Later on the Cimmerians invaded the peninsular. Then the Cimmerians were forced out by the Scythians. After that the Scythians were ousted by the Sarmatians. Meanwhile, the Byzantines and other Mediterranean peoples kept on colonizing Crimea’s coast, forced by the expansion of the mighty Roman Empire.